


Heart of the Darkness

by BrightTerror



Series: BrightTerror's 2020 Whumptober [7]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alexandria Safe-Zone (Walking Dead), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Daryl Dixon, Blood and Injury, Canon Timeline, Concussions, Delirium, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Head Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Rick Grimes whump, Somewhere after season 6 mid season finale, Walkers (Walking Dead), Whumptober 2020, although that warning is implied in one line only in the past but imma still tag it, but before negan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:39:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26881561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrightTerror/pseuds/BrightTerror
Summary: Whumptober Day 7: "I’VE GOT YOU: Support | Carrying" and Day 20: LostRick and Daryl went on a supply run when they get themselves in a walker-infested car crash. Rick is hurt and Daryl has to make sure they both survive.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Rick Grimes
Series: BrightTerror's 2020 Whumptober [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948378
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Heart of the Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Walking Dead fic. I've never written Rick nor Daryl until now but i gotta say it was fun to write, so I hope you enjoy it!  
> This isnt beta read so I'm sorry for any typos or mistakes.

Everything was rolling and thrashing around him. He could hear and feel the window breaking, the shards of glass smashing inside the car and lodging themselves onto his skin. His head hit the wheel as everything spun around and the last thing he did before everything went dark was reaching towards the other man in the passenger seat to try and protect him from the inevitable impact. 

It all happened in the blink of an eye. One second they were heading back to Alexandria after a successful run of supplies to the city. It was dark outside and Rick was in the passenger’s seat singing along to an old cassette that had already been in the car while Daryl complained halfheartedly about it, hiding a smile. The next moment a walker horde appeared in the middle of the road and made them turn around and nope the fuck out of there. 

However as soon as they made a U turn they were faced with a walker lost in the road. Seconds later, Daryl swinged the car wheel to avoid hitting it and the car ended up losing control, sending them both off the road and down the slope sending their car rolling and crashing into the woods. The car continued whirling down until it was stopped abruptly by a tree, totalling the hood of the car. 

Daryl didn’t know how much time passed when he regained consciousness. He groggily opened his eyes, squinted and blinked a few times as everything settled in. He felt like he had lost a fight with a walker and every fibre of his being was aching. 

Before he fully regained full composure of his surroundings and what had happened he had automatically reached out and called out for Rick. “R’ck?” He mumbled and tried to turn his head to his right to check on his partner. 

After a few seconds of no response, he immediately went into alert mode and spun around, ignoring the protests from his bones. Daryl’s heart skipped a beat when he saw the state Rick was in. The man in question was unresponsive and a trail of blood was running down his forehead and from his mouth. He had some shallow cuts on his face and arms from the broken glass and the more Daryl looked for injuries the more he found: a piece of metal was encrusted on the man’s crooked leg. A leg should not be set in that angle,  _ ever _ . 

Daryl urgently began to shake his shoulders to wake him up. He  _ needed _ to know if he was alive. Rick  _ needed _ to be alive. He  _ had _ to. Rick’s limp body only moved by the shaking but apart from that he didn’t react. “Rick, C’mon man. Ya gotta wake.” He shook him some more, scared of the possibility that the next time Rick opened his eyes it would be as a walker. 

Daryl could not accept it, there was no way that Rick was going to kick the bucket for something like this. After all they had been through, after fighting for their lives and each other on so many occasions, after losing so many loved ones… he was not going to let Rick die for something as stupid as a car crash. 

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard growling nearing them. He figured the walkers were lured by the sound of the crash, so he let his survival instincts do the next part. He grabbed his knife he always had on him and left the car after some struggling with the door. 

Three walkers were approaching from the East, and more were coming from all directions but they were farther away, he could worry about those later. Daryl plunged at them and in a few quick moves he had knifed them all in the head, leaving their bodies laying there. 

He could hear the grumbling sound of the walking dead growing. If the horde they spotted before was coming their way, the chances of survival weren’t so great for them. 

Daryl, thankfully, was quick on his feet and ran back to the back of the car where their bags were. They had a flare gun with them at all times in case they needed to call for backup or an emergency, it appeared it was going to be useful now. 

He quickly dismissed the idea of calling for help, he didn’t remember how far from Alexandria they were when it all happened so there was a chance they were too far away from being spotted. So he looked for the biggest and farthest clearance of trees he could see and fired the flare, seeing how the forest lit up about fifty yards away from them a few seconds later. 

The combination of the noise and sound would lure the majority of the walkers away from them. But not for long. He ran towards the passenger’s seat side of the car and pulled the door open. Rick was still unconscious and unresponsive to the world. Daryl started unbuckling him from the car to carry him out. 

“I swear, if ya die over somethang so ridiculous as this I will never forgive ya. Ya hear me? There’s no way imma tell Lil’ Asskicker and Carl that you died on me like this.” He grumbled worriedly as he hauled the other man away from the car and onto the ground. 

He looked through his bag and found a t-shirt they had gotten on their run and a few sticks he picked around. That would help the blood loss and steading his leg once he fixed it and took the metal incrusted in it. 

Before he settled the leg in the right position he knew he had to check for any signs of life from his partner. He had been postponing this since he gained consciousness, because a part of his mind reminded him there was always a chance he was not going to like what he found, he could be dead. But he _needed_ to know, for both his sanity and survival. It was like ripping out a bandaid, he thought. He had to do it quickly. 

Daryl’s self preservation and hunter instincts finally got the best of him and he checked for a pulse. After a few seconds he felt it, it was barely there, but it was. He let out a relieved breath and a laugh bubbled up in his chest. Rick was  _ alive _ . Barely, but alive nonetheless. 

That gave him hope and determination to get them both out of there, whatever it takes. He took a deep breath and tried to get the best view of the twisted leg. The only light out there was the moon and the flare sparking up a few yards away. It wasn’t much but enough. Without any more interruptions he grabbed the leg and in one swift motion, set it right. It made a distinguishable  _ crack _ sound and Rick woke up yelling from the pain, it was a scream of pure agony that made Daryl wince. 

Rick passed out again as quick as he woke. Daryl guessed the pain was too much, but for now he definitely knew his boyfriend wouldn’t be joining the living dead any time soon. He could deal with the rest. He quickly used the t-shirt as a makeshift gauge and tied it up tightly to prevent more blood loss from the slash on his leg. 

In the next few minutes he had to act quick. The flare was going out and Rick's agonising scream definitely made enough noise to bring the already nearby walkers to their direction. The next move was obvious: they had to get out of there.

Rick was sprawled out on the ground and the car was a total wreckage. They would have to leave on foot. Daryl got his bag with the guns and knives they had and filled the rest of it with as much food as he could. They had found a lot of food cans on their run but he knew it would be counterproductive to take it all; it would only slow them down. 

So he got as many as he could carry and then went to pick Rick up. A handful of walkers approached him and he plunged the knife onto their temples in swift moves without a second thought. The more he killed the more that approached. They were like roaches, they kept coming from everywhere. 

Humans had various responses when dealing with danger: Flight, Fight, Freeze or Fawn. Daryl was always one to act with the fight response. There was never a fight he escaped from. Not since he was a young kid and had to learn the hard way to fight back. But in that moment, he needed to retreat or neither would make it. Rick depended on him now and he couldn’t let him down. Not him. 

With his adrenaline pumping and his many days of carrying bucks and other animals for food, he was able to pick Rick in his arms without much trouble and made a run from it. 

He didn’t know where he was going. He was in the middle of a forest, god knows how far from any abandoned buildings or cabins, and it was almost pitch black. He was avoiding walkers mainly by the sound they made and the rare visibility from the dim moonlight. 

He was totally lost, with an unconscious man in his arms and an army of undead trying to kill and devour them. He wasn’t going to lie, odds weren’t good but they had faced worse before: The governor, Terminus, the claimers, the barn, the wolves, and Alexandria being invaded. They had made it out alive and they would make it out of here even if it was the last thing Daryl did. 

He managed to get them both away from the main group of walkers and after walking for who knows how long, he found a sheltered circle of bushes where he figured they could rest for a bit. 

He laid Rick down and drank a few sips from his water bottle. He was thirsty, tired, aching all over and needing food. But he had to make it last, after all he didn’t know how long they were going to be in the middle of nowhere. 

Rick started waking up shortly after. His breathing was raspy and it was clear he had better days. His face was still covered in blood and dirt but he was no longer bleeding from the head, his leg seemed to still be bleeding but not as much anymore. “Daryl?” He croaked. 

Daryl grasped his shoulder to convey him he was there, alive and okay. He wasn’t much of a talker so most of his thoughts he showed through actions. “Yer okay.” He said simply, filled with determination. He passed the water to Rick and an opened, half eaten can of beans he had gotten earlier. 

Rick took it without question and spent the next few minutes eating and catching up to his surroundings. Not one of them said anything. They had to avoid the noise to avoid drawing in walkers, and after all they had been through it wasn’t hard to communicate without words. 

Walkers were approaching them fast, if their groaning was anything to go by and they knew it was time to move. Daryl didn’t even ask Rick if he needed help, he gave him his hand in support to stand up and put an arm around him to keep him steady. 

They began walking, or better said for Rick, limping as he weighed in on Daryl for support. Rick walked with a hazy look in his eyes as if he wasn’t totally there, he was moving on automatic, leaning on Daryl knowing he meant safety. He didn’t seem to pay much attention to the rest. 

They kept walking and killing walkers as they strolled through the leaves and trees. Daryl was scouting for any shelter they could spend the night in. They still had a few hours till sunrise and they were too exposed out here, especially since they were hurt. He didn’t show it much, used to much worse, but he wasn’t at his best either. He couldn’t dwell on it now. He had to be strong because it was clear that Rick couldn’t be much help now. 

Daryl suspected he was still a bit disoriented with everything given how he hadn’t said a word since he woke. Which was more of a Daryl thing to do rather than Rick. 

Things began going sideways again when Rick began speaking. Usually it would have been a good sign but not when he was spluttering nonsense. “Where are we?” He frowned and looked lost. “What happened?” He gave a puzzled look, which unsettled Daryl. “Where’s Carl? where’s Judith? We have to find them.”

“Woods. had a car crash remember?” Daryl whispered. “Yer kids are fine. They’re safe at Alexandria. Carol and Michonne are takin’ good care of em.”

“Huh.” Rick didn’t sound completely convinced but took it as an answer. Last time Daryl had seen him like this was after Lori’s death and he didn’t like it one bit. It pained to see him like that. 

Eventually Daryl spotted what appeared to be a cabin. They walked up to it and against all the warnings in his head, he left Rick alone outside while he went to clear the cabin. He had to make sure no walkers or people were inside. 

He only found one walker that was quickly killed and disposed of, he went back to Rick who had his crazy look on him. Daryl gently guided him inside. This place would do fine while they waited for the horde to calm down and for sunlight to strike. 

There was a small, dusty bedroom that seemed it had been untouched by humans for a long time. Daryl guided Rick there and told him to lay down while he checked his leg. He had a flashlight on his bag that was finally helpful now that they could use it without attracting unwanted attention from the walkers. 

He pressed the flashlight between his neck and chest so he could have both his hands free and unwrapped the makeshift gauge from his leg. It was stained with blood and it was already damp and dirtied. He could not put it back or he would risk an infection. Rick’s leg was definitely broken and his wound was red around the borders but not infected yet. It would be if they didn’t get it cleaned in the next few hours though. He just hoped there would be enough time to get to Alexandria before it was too late. 

While he was checking his leg he had to tuned out what Rick was saying because he couldn’t worry about two things at once right now. He had help him and would not be able to do that if he was worried about the other mumbling absolute incoherences. 

“We h’ve to svae th’m. D’ryl. Th’res danger.. th’ prison..” he continued to slur his words and mumble nonsense. Daryl figured he had a nasty concussion or even something worse, which was why they had to get to Alexandria so that Denise could check on him as soon as possible. Rick seemed agitated while he talked, freaked out yet he seemed somewhat lethargic. 

“It’s okay Rick. Ya just sleep okay? You’ll be better in the mornin’.” Daryl said calmly and patted his arm as reassurance. 

Rick grabbed his arm tightly and would not let him go. He was disoriented and needed an anchor to reality. Daryl had no other option than to stay next to him, so he grabbed his pistol and knife. Placing the gun next to him while he grabbed the knife with his free hand. Prepared in case they had to face any more danger. 

Rick fell asleep and leaned on him a few minutes later. His breathing was raspy and his forehead was swollen from the hit but Daryl saw that for once today he somehow looked peaceful. Just a few minutes ago there was anxiousness and confusion on his expressions and now his frown lines had been reduced. Daryl smiled; at least one of them was getting their much needed rest. 

He didn’t know when sleep had overtaken him but he woke up by sudden noise. It wasn’t loud or anything but he had been trained to be aware of any small sound just in case. 

He opened his eyes and the bright light hit his eyes at once. It was definitely day time already and judging by the intensity it was way past sunrise. 

Next thing he noticed was someone moving next to him. Rick was holding his gun, resting on his lap and looking at him fondly. 

“Woke up about an hour ago and you were dead to the world. Yesterday also took a toll on ya.” Rick’s voice was drawled and raspy from not talking in a while and lack of water. 

Daryl was relieved to find Rick back to normal. “Glad to see yer back. Not makin’ any sense doesn’t suit you. Ya know?” He teased. 

“What happened? Last I remember you gave me some food and water and.. you helped me walk right?” Rick frowned. His leg was swollen but thankfully not infected but it hurt like a bitch.

“Ya forget what happened. You was askin’ for Carl and Lil’ Asskicker and then you weren’t even sayin’ proper words.” Daryl got off the bed and grabbed the rest of the water that was left. Tossing it to Rick and telling him to finish it. 

Rick left him half of what was left, being adamant to getting Daryl to drink some. They talked about how they were going to get back and were thinking possible strategies. One option was Rick stayed there while Daryl found a way out of the woods and possibly find a car but it was too risky. Rick could hold his own alright, but he had a broken leg and a concussion—most likely— and Daryl didn’t want to risk it. They settled on getting his leg immobilized and then they would both go together to find out a way back home. 

Daryl was facing the window as they talked and he saw something move from the trees from the corner of his eye and in an instance got his knife out and was ready to attack. He motioned to Rick to stay still and keep the gun while he went to investigate. 

It could be a walker but it could also be people. After some horrible experiences he had come to find out sometimes people could be way worse than walkers. He had to be prepared. 

Before he could do anything he spotted three people he definitely recognised. A few feet away from the cabin, still walking through the trees, were Tara, Michonne and Glenn.

They spotted him shortly after. “Daryl?” Glenn said. He broke into a smile and put his gun down and so did Daryl. “Oh thank god we found you.”

Michonne put her katana back and looked around. “Where’s Rick?” She asked, fear crippling onto her, thinking the worst. “Is he-“

Daryl shook his head. “Nah. He’s alive. Pretty beat up but he’ll live.”

Glenn, Tara and Michonne looked relieved. “I’m glad you’re both okay.” Tara smiled. 

They all walked inside and greeted Rick, who was trying not to move much due to his leg. Luckily, the group had been prepared and brought a medical kit with them when they had left Alexandria earlier this morning. They were able to bandage Rick and clean his wound. 

“How did y’all even find us?” Rick asked. 

“You didn’t come back last night. It was supposed to be a one day run. So we gathered a search party and left at first light.” Michonne explained. “We found some walker corpses and reached the car wreck. There was so much blood on the car we thought-“ she stopped herself from finishing the thought. “but you left dead bodies so we knew you were alive. Didn’t take much to track you here.” 

“It sure is easier to find the way during the day.” Rick scratched his beard. “Yesterday was a blur.”

Daryl snorted. “Understatement. Had to carry yer sorry ass all the way while you were delirious. Was too busy trying to keep ya alive so I couldn’t even track properly. Thought we were lost completely.” He told them, who looked at Rick with a raised eyebrow. “Scared the crap outta me. Should have killed him for making me think he was dead.” He said with no real threat to it. He was joking and knew he could have never put him down even if he had to. 

Rick smiled bashingly at him. “Nah ya love me too much.”

Daryl stared at him with a huff. “Yeah I do. But you still were an asshole for almost dyin’.” 

Rick looked at him fondly and apologetic. “Sorry, Daryl. I’ll do my best to keep myself from dying.” He said completely serious and then gave a half smile which Daryl returned. 

“So how long are we from Alexandria?” Daryl asked. 

“A few miles. Once we get out of the forest we have a car and it’s about 20 minutes from there.” Tara answered, she grabbed her backpack and gun. “Which we should get back to. We don’t want them to send a third search party now do we? Cause I’m sure Carl will go search for you if we don’t go back. He is one stubborn kid.” 

“Yer tellin’ me I was 20 minutes from home and could have avoided the last 15 hours of hell?” Daryl complained half heartedly and began helping the others and Rick ready to leave. “Not fair.” He sighed then looked at Rick. “Let’s go see our kids then.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please please comment your thoughts!   
> I am currently watching TWD for the first time, I'm on s7 and I just love Rick and Daryl so much, so I wanted to give it a try to write them.   
> If you want to come and chat find me on Tumblr as: @BrightTerror  
> Have an amazing day!


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